Alloys comprising an amorphous phase exhibit excellent material properties, such as elasticity, hardness and high tensile strength, and have shown potential to supersede purely crystalline alloys for certain functional and structural applications. In addition, such alloys generally have low densities and high strength-to-weight ratios when compared to purely crystalline alloys.
One type of alloy having an amorphous phase that is commonly used today is VITRELOY™ 1 from Amorphous Technologies International in Laguna Niguel, Calif., United States of America. VITRELO™ 1 is a zirconium-based alloy having a composition of Zr41.2Ti13.8Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5. VITRELOY™ 1 is used extensively in a wide number of applications which includes sports and luxury products, electronic goods, medical instruments, and military equipment.
As VITRELO™ 1 contains beryllium, which is a carcinogen, strict precautions had to be taken during formation and processing of the alloy to avoid beryllium poisoning. This in turn results in high post-processing costs. Beryllium is also a costly material which makes the alloy expensive to produce.
There is therefore a need to provide an alloy or bulk metallic glass that overcomes or at least ameliorates one or more of the disadvantages described above.